March in the Garden Ken Cox on what to do as Spring arrives
March in the Garden and at Glendoick Scotland's award winning garden writer Ken Cox writes
The timing of when trees and shrubs burst into flower in the Spring depends on how cold or mild it is...
What's in flower and what to think about planting...
- Mothers Day Glendoick’s amazing home- grown Camellias, Magnolias and Rhododendrons make ideal Mothers’ Day gifts.
- Last chance for bareroot hedging available in bundles of 5 or 10.
- Plant seed potatoes & onion sets.
- Sow seeds indoors: cucumbers, marrow, squash, pumpkin, tomato, celery, cabbage, kale, cauliflower, sprouts, leeks, beetroot
- Prune roses
- Plant Alpines small plants for small places... lots in flower: Arabis, wild primroses, Aubretia etc
- Feed the Birds. The berries and seeds in gardens are starting to run out, so the birds depend on a helping hand at this time of year.
- Primroses & Pansies for borders, containers, mass of colour in every shade.
- Early spring heathers are in full flower now. Mix them with varieties with coloured growth for a carpet of colour in the cold months.
- Plant potted blubs: Snowdrops can flower as early as January or as late as March. You can plant ' in the green' as flowers go over. this is a great time as they will begin to multiply and spread.
- This is the month for tough and reliable shrubs like flowering currant (Ribes) and golden Forsythia.
- The buds of Magnolias are swelling, usually opening in April. Glendoick's early rhododendrons like 'Ptarmigan' are starting to show colour now.
- Early perennials are flowering now: look out for patterned leaved pulmonaria, helleboures with dark purple, pink or white flowers, are excellent for planting under trees and shrubs.
- The original 'wild' primroses with creamy yellow flowers are out now. As are the elephant-eared Bergenia with pink or white flowers, ideal for a path edge.
Plant summer flowering bulbs, corms and tubers:
- Begonias for hanging baskets. These need to be kept indoors till May. They'll flower all summer.
- Lillies you can plant them in the garden or in containers. In heavy soil plant with sand or grit at the base.
- Dahlias for late summer colour. They are frost tender so plant them deep and mulch them to protect the early shoots.
Crocosmia 3 different colours, for long lasting late summer colour. The orange red ones are the hardiest: varieties like 'Lucifer'.
